John 17:15 (NASB),
15. I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one.
This verse is contained with a larger section of verses in which the Lord Jesus is praying to His Father about His disciples and the role that they will have in bringing the church into the world after Jesus departs from them into the heavens.
The phrase "I am not asking You..." contains the verb
erótaó, meaning
"to ask". Here, the verb is conjugated in the present active indicative form, meaning what Jesus is asking the Father is something which reveals Christ's desire for His disciples. It is not a one time asking, but an active asking, always in the present, always in the "now" of each and every moment.
In a different verse earlier in the Gospel of John, concerning the Father, Jesus states "You always hear Me" (
John 11:42).
From this we can correctly acknowledge that as the Son of the Father, Jesus knows perfectly and fully that whatsoever things He prays to God, the Father will indeed do, so that the Son may be honored and glorified in the same way the Father is Himself honored and glorified (
John 5:23 and
John 14:13).
And, from that, we can correctly acknowledge that, in
John 17:15, the Father heard the Son and acquiesced to the Son's request to not take His disciples out of the world. But, and since, the prayer request is an active asking, always in the present, always in the "now" of each and every moment, it was not a mere one and done request, but a continual, constant request with a continual and constant response from the Father, in the affirmative.
Which means what?
That it was never, and so, never is, the desire of the Lord Jesus, or of the Father of the Lord Jesus, to take His disciples out of the world.
Rather, that on account of His disciples, the world, through Jesus, might be saved (
John 3:17 with
John 17:20).
Are you a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, then it is not the desire of the Lord Jesus, or of the Father of the Lord Jesus, to take you out of the world.
Rather, that on account of you, the world, through Jesus, might be saved.
If you are a disciple.
Tikkun Olam 2021, brothers and sisters.